A line of sunken footsteps drew its path from the pool to the mansion’s front door, swerving like a parabola. Shin stepped into the main hall, glancing around for a sign of the man he was looking for. Raina had said she’d seen him around here, lurking, so…

“Wonder where he could be…” Shin’s voice trailed. If Streak wasn’t around, that’d cut that option out. He looked towards the steps to the dorms, the off towards a side hall. His finger trailed across the wall as he aimlessly wandered down a side hall, searching. He hadn’t been at the main entrance. Where could he be? His fingers reached the bend in the hall, and clipped off it as he turned. The office nearly leaped out at him.

“Oh. Never saw that before.” Shin blinked.

Streak was sitting in his comfy chair behind his desk. Things were a little slow lately and there wasn't much that needed doing. Playing solitaire was fun for a while but it was losing its appeal after losing for like twentieth time that morning. There was a rap on the door. Streak looked up. "Wonder who that could be." he said as he got up and walked over to the door. Not many people came knocking on their door and so it must have been someone that was living at the mansion.

He opened the door and saw Shin on the other side. "Hey Shard. You need something?" Streak asked him as he let the door swing open the rest of the way by itself. The only thing that this might have been about was getting into the X-Men. The last time he'd mentioned it, it was at the infirmary and with a little less than perfect timing.

“Name’s ‘Shin’, actually…” Shin eyed Shawn strangely. “Not sure how you got ‘Shard’ from that, but anyways… you probably know why I’m here.” The strange look turned into a tight-lipped smile. Last time, Shawn had played around and avoided the question. This time, Shin figured it best to be bold. “I was told you were who I should ask about becoming an X-men trainee? Well… here I am.”

He spread out his arms in a swan-styled bow. Inwardly, he steeled his resolve. If Shawn had questions about why he wanted to do this and put his life on the line, he had his answers. Yeah, he had them… in bold-faced print on the signs of the masses. It was just something he had to do, no matter the risk.

Speaking of which, that was a really nice office… he blinked around at it. “Huh? You have this office all to yourself?” Off on a tangent. What a great way to skip around.

(ooc: sorry about that)

Shawn was a little embarrassed. "Right I don't know where I got that from either. Sorry." He said. "Perfect Shin" Shawn started putting emphasis on his name. "I was wondering if you were going to broach that subject again. And apparently you have decided to do such a thing." He stepped out from the center of the doorway. This wasn't going to take long because from how he'd seen Shin act when he was giving a tour to Codi, who needed to be rushed to the infirmary.

From what he'd seen he seemed like he cared for the innocent and that was always a good thing when it came to the X-Men. However you needed more than just kindness when it came to being an X-Men and that was what Shawn's job was all about. It was about finding out if people had what they needed to be a helpful and well rounded member of the X-Men. "Come on in. Sit. We'll talk in here." Shawn said to him. "No I share it with Sam. He does basically the same job as me, but he teaches and I don't." Shawn said motioning towards a chair situated in front of his desk.

With a nod and a curtsy (curtsy not included), Shin sat down in the chair. He took mental note of that detail about Sam, filing it away for later. For now, he just sat in the chair, back as straight as a yard stick, waiting for the first question.

“I’m ready. Let’s start when you’re ready.” He smiled patiently, hand clasped over one knee.

"Great." Streak said as he sat down in his chair behind the desk. "Basic questions. Why do you want to be in the X-Men? and what do you personally think the X-Men stand for? I'm not looking for something that sounds like it's straight out of a dictionary or off a flyer or something. I'm looking for your own words." Streak said. He was more interested in what Shin had to say than himself asking questions.

It was the answers that mattered most out of anything that he could ask. Like the saying went: Actions speak louder than words. He'd already seen some of the guys actions but he didn't know much about him personally and, perhaps just as importantly, his powers. Provided he answered well Streak would know all about Shin very soon.

“The other day…” Shin began. “I was at a book store. That book store isn’t there anymore. There was an anti-mutant riot, and…” He shook his head. “One of my friends got hurt. I just think… well, I think it isn’t right. The police probably think that we started it, when we were just defending ourselves. It’s unfair for the opinions of the masses to be slanted like that. I feel like...”

He paused, looking at Shawn straight in the eye. “Well, I want to do something to protect the people who are victims of that sort of slanted reasoning. I want to give the slanters a reason to see the good behind that which they slight. That’s what the X-men do, right? They show the world all the good we mutants can do. They portray mutant-kind in a positive light. I want to do what I can to defend people, even if I don’t understand their beliefs.”

“I’m just,” his mouth fell into an egotistical grin as he jabbed a thumb at his chest. “That kind of guy.”

Shawn smiled at his answers. They were good and but he needed more information on a little different subject. "Good. Glad to hear that. Now on to other things. Tell me about your powers. What can you do? tell me everything about your strengths. You can tell me the weaknesses in a little bit. But I want to make sure you don't miss anything with your powers." Shawn said the Shin. This was some of the more fun parts of being a X-men recruiter. Learning about someone's powers and also seeing them in use. Depending on the powers would tell Streak what he should do to give Shin a good test.

After he was done with Shin he needed to have a serious talk to Sam about some important things. But that could wait right now Shin's tryout needed his attention. He continued to smile at Shin as he waited for the answers. He knew that it would come quickly because Shin seemed like one of the people that seemed to know a lot about their powers. He wouldn't have to do much discovering and that would make things easier on him and on Streak.

Shin raised his right index finger, calling up a single silver triangle to balance on its tip. “See this triangle? I can call up a whole lot more of them. They come in a rainbow of colors and mirrored or non-mirrored surfaces, and they’re about a 10 on the Mohs scale (I think). They’re strong enough to scratch diamond, and good for barrier-usage, but the right amount of pressure can still snap them. They’re both brittle and strong. So…” He held his chin, considering the matter. The triangle he’d held before vanished. “I guess if I was asked to define it in ten words or less, I’d have to say ‘Controls triangular barriers used for offense and defense.’ Yeah. That’s right… and in eight.” He counted on his fingers, shouldering a smirk.

“Does that work for you for a definition of strengths? Razor-sharp triangles hard enough to scratch diamonds, but brittle enough to be snapped?” Shin tilted his head. He wasn’t sure that’d be enough of a description, so he waited on Shawn’s response before he mentioned the weaknesses.

The information that Streak was receiving was very helpful for him to learn about Shin's powers. He stared at the triangle that Shin made appear in his hand. "Very cool." He piped up before he returned to listening. The triangles were apparently much stronger than they looked. He didn't doubt anything that Shin was telling him about his powers. Shawn did, however, think it was very interesting that the triangles were as sharp as diamonds but also could be broken. Learning this, he started to get excited and wanted to see his powers in action.

From what he'd glimpsed just then he was confident that Shin had a lot of control and the trials would be fairly easy for him. It also meant that Streak could make the physical trials harder than he would have normally made them. He somehow imagined that Sin would be up to the challenge. "Interesting. What about your weaknesses?" Streak questioned him. This could be a very fun trial if everything played out right.

“Well…” Shin paused to consider it. “I’ve been training a bit in the danger room, so I’ve learned a few things about those weaknesses. I can block heat blasts well enough, and my powers don’t seem impaired by extreme temperatures (though I do). And Ari’s always breaking through my guard with jets of water. They sweep through the gaps in my defenses… same with electricity, I guess. You know, diamond’s a good insulator against that?” Shin looked thoughtful for a second. “I guess it isn’t so much ‘electrical bolts’ as it is the wild blue thunder… of course, this ‘electrical business’ is only here-say and rough guesstimates.” He paused. “It crackles around the edge… I guess that’s it for elemental weaknesses… so…”

He cleared his throat, hiding a slight blush. “Now for the hard part. Admitting my own faults… when I’m using my powers, I’m controlling my shards by sight. If something is in their path and I don’t see it, it’s in danger. This applies to people, too. So whenever I use my powers, I have to keep a keen eye tuned to the spatial setup around me.”

“And of course, it doesn’t help that they sometimes limit my vision themselves…” He coughed into his fist, embarrassed. “I think that’s it.”

"No one likes to admit their weaknesses." Streak finally said, once Shin was finished explaining things. His weaknesses sounded like they could be very dangerous to people on his own team. He'd just need to be sure to inform everyone not to get in his way when it came during a fight. There were some other questions that were he felt were necessary for Shin's survival in a fight and for the rest of the X-Men in the fight. "What happens to your triangles if you lose consciousness? Do they go crazy or do they disappear?" Shawn thought that after these questions were answered they would move on to the Danger Room to get the show started.

Being in the Danger Room was the best part for him. His creativity was the only thing that held him, and everyone else that used the place, back. Streak would be able to make this as interesting as possible. As the time passed he was getting more anxious to get to the Danger Room and see how Shin would react to the situations that he would be put in.

“… Funny you should ask that.” A faint smile slipped back. For this question, he appeared prepared. “I tried once, when I was testing the power out early on. I called up a shard, and let it sit on my table when I went to bed. The next morning, it was gone. Not a scratch on the walls, either... I’m not sure if that’s an accurate comparison to being knocked out, but it does give a good impression of what they’d do if I wasn’t focusing on them. They’d vanish.”

He smiled, matter-of-factly.

"Well whether its accurate or not it at least gives me a good indication of what might happen." Shawn said to him when he explained his powers to him. His answers had been succinct and very informative. After a slight pause in their conversation Streak had time to think for a minute. It seemed that Shin had a good grasp on everything and it seemed like high time they got to the Danger Room.

"I have no more questions, so if you're ready we'll begin the actual trial part. Let's move on to the Danger Room where we can start the fun." Streak said smiling wider at Shin. He stood up and walked around his desk and towards the door again.

“Heh, alright.” Shin smirked, getting up from his seat. His right fist clenched, preparing for the trial by fire. Whatever challenge Shawn was preparing for him, he’d weather that storm. All that practicing he’d done… he was sure it would pay off, but more importantly…

“So, I guess you’ll be surprising me with the simulation, huh?” He laughed nervously, scratching his cheek. It was fine, really it was, but… surprises always did get on his nerves.

((OOC: Giving you permission to take [read: Godmode] Shin to the danger room in the next post.))